There are many ways to get to Delphi
and it just depends on how much you want to spend and how easy you
want the trip to be. Many people include Delphi with an overnight trip to Meteora
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George the Famous
Taxi Driver
Most travel agents offer tours to Delphi which are fine if you like tours, the
problem being if you are adventurous or irritated by the slow pace, since a tour can only go as quickly as its
slowest member. The way I recommend is by taxi excursion which turns out to be a bargain if you are traveling with
enough people to fill up one or more taxis since they charge by the trip and not by the person. The last time I
went we left Athens about 8am and drove to Delphi and then on along the coast to Galaxidi, Nafpaktos and we crossed
by ferry at Antririon-Rion and drove back to Athens on the highway across the northern Peloponessos. Many people combine Delphi with Meteora for a two-day trip. George is great because he is not just a driver, he is your personal guide, translator, he can help you order in the restaurant and stop along the way at interesting places to swim, eat or see something that most tourists don't.
He also books the hotels for you and gets special rates. George has 3 sons as well and they use a limo, mini-bus and a larger bus for bigger groups. For more information see www.greecetravel.com/taxi
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Tours to Delphi
Many travel agencies in Greece
include Delphi in their organized land tours. It is included in
the three and four day classical tour and also as an overnight
trip with Meteora and a 3-Day Trip with Meteora. It can also be done as a Day Trip and a 2-Day Trip. Along with
George's Taxi Tour this is the easiest way to see Delphi. The big beautiful air-conditioned bus
picks you up at your hotel in the morning and drops you off
after the tour. The 7-Day Grand Tour (includes Meteora and just about every other important place on the mainland), Northern Greece Five Days Tour (Thessaloniki & Macedonia Area), The 4-Day Classical Tour, and the 3-Day Classical Tour all include Delphi. These programs are make very efficient use of time and there are usually interesting people on them which can make them a lot of fun even for people who claim they don't like tours. These tours include the services of a licensed guide for the archaeological sites and museums,
breakfast and other meals, depending on the tour. You can book tours to Delphi through Dolphin Hellas Travel or Fantasy Travel
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Buses to Delphi
There are several local buses a day to and
from Athens. The trip takes about three hours and will cost around 10E. In the summer book early because space
is scarce. There is also a daily bus to and from Patras which is helpful if you are coming from or going to Italy.
There is also a bus to Larissa where you can change for a bus to Meteora. You
can find bus info for Delphi on the KTEL Fokidas Bus website. The drawback is that you have to get from your Athens hotel to the bus station, which is nowhere near any hotel that you would want to stay in. And to go there and come back in a day by public transportation is exhausting so you will need to stay in a hotel. It is better if you have the money to do the tour, especially if you want to see Meteora too because
getting from Delphi to Meteora is an all-day affair by bus. Factor in the hotels and the meals and the tours start looking better and better even if your motive is to do Greece as cheaply as possible.
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Renting a Car
If you are
planning to rent a car and drive from Athens
to Delphi check out
Swift
Rent-a-Car. They will pick you up at the airport or your
hotel and drive you to the National road and
let you by-pass the notorious Athens traffic.
They are actually a rental-car-broker which means they work with a lot of different car rental agencies and find the best car for the best price. They also have automatics if you are uncomfortable using a stick, and they have jeeps, mini-vans, convertibles and some special cars available too. See their website.
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